3 Degrees of Davis is the theory that if you've been in Davis for a while, believe it or not you are connected with every other person in town through 3 degrees or less.

When you connect whatever it is you're connecting in 3 or less, the correct thing to say is (slightly exasperated, maybe even a little resigned sounding) "welcome to Davis"

A corollary is that after living in Davis for a year, the probability that you will run into someone you know somewhere in Davis on any given day is close to 1 (assuming that you do not stay at home all day). In fact, if you are friends with 40 or 50 people, your odds of running into at least one of them at random in Davis during the day are also quite good.

Comments:

2008-09-11 09:49:51 This is absolutely true. It's about time someone created this page. Try it! It's more fun than the Kevin Bacon game. —CurlyGirl26

2008-09-11 10:15:19 If everyone in Davis knows at least 50 people, this is probably true, since 503 > the population of Davis. The question is whether there are enough people in Davis who are sufficiently well connected to other people. If enough people know only 25 other people, this is probably not true. —IDoNotExist

It also depends on what you count as a connection. Noticing the waitress from Bakers Square at the grocery store or seeing "that guy who drives the other car like mine" at the Farmers Market counting makes sense — they are recognizable as individuals to you, even though you know very very little about them.

2009-06-30 06:35:58 I stay in my cave all day and don't come out. I certainly don't know close to 40 people... maybe 4? I spend half my time in the Bay Area, but I've lived in Davis for over 2 years. —KellyM

2009-09-19 12:34:16 weird, true and sometimes annoying...so i just keep my head down. i also don't go to certain establishments at all if i'm not willing to be interrupted with food in my mouth. —mjwagner

2010-01-03 21:40:16 Totally true! I'm a townie so I may not be the best example of this at work. I can hardly walk down a street in downtown without seeing someone I went to high school, junior high, elementary, something with. Assuming I know MOST of the people I graduated with (say... 400 by face and name out of the 600?) and all the people they know... I've definitely got Davis covered in 2 steps. —KBathory